Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530530
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M W ith just two sentences, Penn State's football future crystallized. And offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki understood as much. "Beyond lucky to be a part of the Penn State Football Family," Kotelnicki tweeted on Dec. 9. "Still a lot to ac- complish this season, and I am looking forward to what 2025 has in store for our program!" Leaving out the specifics, the message was unmistakable. Although he's cer- tainly destined for a major head coaching gig at some point, the talented assistant will remain with the Nittany Lions for the time being. Following the regular season, Ko- telnicki began to garner attention as a potential candidate for West Virginia's head coaching post, which opened up af- ter Neal Brown was fired on Dec. 1. BWI learned that Kotelnicki was one of three finalists for the job. He interviewed with the Mountaineers on Dec. 8 but pulled his name out of the running the next day, eyeing an opportunity to direct Penn State's offense in a first-round matchup against SMU in the expanded College Football Playoff. After a 45-37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 7, the Nittany Lions' potential has come into sharp focus. They piled up 518 yards of offense against the Ducks, the fourth- highest total in any Big Ten Champion- ship Game. The Lions' 292 rushing yards were a game record, with junior run- ning backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combining to average 9.5 yards per carry. The clash with the Ducks showcased Penn State's ability to generate explosive plays. Through 13 games, the Lions have had 65 plays of 20 or more yards, includ- ing 8 against Oregon. That, of course, was James Franklin's goal when he hired Kotelnicki away from Kansas a year ago. The Jayhawks were one of the more explosive teams in the country, and Franklin thought that Ko- telnicki could have the same effect on Penn State. "We did some really good things the last couple years, but where we were lacking last year was in explosive plays," Franklin said. "We started to look at who are the coordinators and who are the teams that are producing explosive plays? And not just because their genet- ics are better. Where are the explosive plays coming from? How are they being created? Are they happening on a con- sistent basis? Are they doing it against their biggest competition?" Penn State has mostly gotten what it was looking for. Under Kotelnicki's guidance, the Lions head into the play- off ranked fourth in ESPN's offensive efficiency metric, trailing only Miami, Oregon and Indiana. That's partly the result of a late-season surge. Since falling to Ohio State, 20- 13, on Nov. 2, Penn State has scored 35 points against Washington, 49 at Purdue, 26 at Min- nesota, 44 on Senior Day against Maryland, and 37 against the Ducks. Boasting the Big Ten's fourth-best scoring average at 33.6 points per game, the Nittany Lions are determined to maintain their progress to close out the season. The immediate future includes the playoff matchup against SMU and potentially a quar- terfinal game versus Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Looking further down the road, the possibilities are equally intriguing for Kotelnicki and the Nittany Lions. His return coincides with speculation that junior quarterback Drew Allar may come back for a fourth sea- son. If Allar does opt to use his last year of eligibility, the Nittany Lions' upward trajectory figures to continue into the spring and summer, which will in turn bode well for the 2025 campaign that Kotelnicki referenced in his social media post. Eager to bounce back from the loss to Oregon, Franklin has challenged the offense to put together an even stron- ger performance in the playoff. SMU's defense is ranked No. 10 nationally in opponent-adjusted efficiency this sea- son, which means that Penn State will need to be explosive if it's going to earn an opportunity to face Boise State. "Overall, yeah, we're doing some good things," Franklin said. But he added that Penn State's success will ultimately be measured by how it performs in the playoff. Said the coach, "It'll be decided really by how we play the rest of the season." With Kotelnicki in the booth for any remaining games, and also seemingly for the 2025 season, the Lions have every reason to be hopeful about the future of their offense. ■ Kotelnicki had been a candidate for the West Virginia head coaching job but tweeted in early December that he's "looking forward to what 2025 has in store" for Penn State's football program. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ Andy Kotelnicki Inspires Hope — For This Year And Beyond